Perishable: Yucca Chain AZRU8-2849

Summary

Yucca Chain, Accession AZRU-00008, Catalog #2849. Morris FS 3663. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Yucca chain with 18 links, one enclosing 3 stalks of corn tassels. Made of strips of broadleaf yucca. Chains joined with overhand knots, new elements added with square knots. Measurements: L 26.0, W 1.0 CM. Images: AZRU8-2849 A: yucca chain enclosing 3 stalks of corn tassels at one end. AZRU8-2849 B: detail of corn tassels (other face). Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 136-2, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 136-2 at the time of excavation is as follows: “A great quantity of Mesa Verde refuse had been cast into Room 136-2 and evenly distributed, its upper limit being nearly level at a height of 3½ feet from the floor. There was a predominant proportion of organic matter, mostly vegetable, and owing to the air space afforded by the open room beneath (Room 147) and to the 5 to 10 feet of debris above, preservation of perishable, objects was practically perfect, except in the upper 3 to 6 inches which had been moistened by rain water before the ceilings above gave way…At the center of the room, beginning 1½ feet from the floor, was about one-half cubic yard of corn tassels (Fig. 24). The tips of the plants had been broken off and tied into bouquet-shaped bundles, as flowers might be…” (Morris 1928:380).

Reference: Earl Morris, 1928, Notes on Excavations in the Aztec Ruin, Volume XXVI, Part V, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Notes

Rights & Attribution: Artifact was collected from Aztec West Ruin excavations by Earl Morris between 1916 and 1922. Morris' excavations were sponsored and funded by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Rights & Attribution: High resolution images of the item are archived and available to researchers through the National Park Service, Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Rights & Attribution: Publication or use of the image is restricted; permission may be obtained through consultation with American Museum of Natural History and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Source Collections

Original Item: Property of American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Image: NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Original Item: Housed at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Related Comparative Collections

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Hibben Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at American Museum of Natural History, New York